The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1887-01-07
CONCERNING MUFFS.
One of the Most Interesting Feminin,
Toilet Accessories,

One of the Most Interesting Feminine
Toilet Accessories.
There is no part of @ Woman's cloth
ing that appeals more aesthetically to
her senses than the furs which enwrap
her in cold weather, not only for the
comfort which they afford, but the lux
ury and social position which they sug-
gest. Many a woman is noticed and
her position established by an extra
inch or more in her seal-skip sacque or
ulster, and even the muff, Which seems
only for warmth and comfort, gives a
tone which one would hardly suppose
possible in so small q matter. If the
fur ulsters denote the length of the
purse, the muf, in its daintiness, thor
orrghly individualizes lady's taste.
Mufs are nothing new. They have
figured in song and fable for many
years. Perhaps the most celebrated
picture with a muff is che by Sir Goshua
Reynolds, of a young English girl in
street dress. A portrait of one of the
English Queens shows ermine robes
and a mnff of the same skin, and Mrs.
Siddons, in Gainesborough's famous
picture is represented with muff in
her left hand, while the shapely fingers
Of her right hand toy with its long fur.
Although muffs are thoroughly FEM
inine, during the reign of Louis XVI.
men wore muffs as well as women, and
they so large that pet terriers were car
ried within them. 1t was probably in
this effeminate age that the word muff
was applied to silly fellow, and is
more or less used in that connection at
the present time.
The tyles in muffs change as do fash
ions in other articles. Thirty or forty
years ago muffs were large enough 20
carry a days provisions in and were
used both for hands and feet in riding.
Under the French directory muffs were
in the extreme size, as large as half
barrel, as can be seen by old pictures.
From this extreme size small muffs
came into fashion, in which there was
only room for the ends of the two fin
gers to meet, and were made princi
pally of ermine skins. For several
seasons dark furs have been de rtgeur,
but light furs, red and white fox and
silver squirrel, and even the domestic
cat is sacrificed to the demand that
there is just now for tortoise shell and
notified furs. In Paris the African mon
key skin is very popular for fashionable
muffs. There is also rage for matched
furs, trimming on the wrap, the muf
and boa being of the same skin.
Muffs made of velvet plush or cloth
are much smaller than those made of
fur. There was a season or two ago
an effort to make muffs fat, Or in the
shape of sachel for shopping, but it
never became popular. 1t was not
dressy enough for formal occasion,
and q lady was as likely to lay it down
as she was those of q round shape
without handle. For few years
plain tailor suits, without fur, had
tendency to lower somewhat the popu-
larity of the muff, but this little article
is too useful an accessory to a
lady's comfort to be dispensed
with. There is nothing that makes
lady feel more perfectly at
home and independent than to have
her hands safely tucked away in one of
these little nests of satin or silk. 1t is
repository, also, for several pretty
feminine articles, the dainty handker-
chief that before was tucked through
button-hole, smelling bottle, card
case and the morning shopping, or a
box of bon-bons. Occasionally it hap
pens that room is found for a third
hand-but muffs are very convenient
for many reasons.-DetroJ tribune.